Whatever Comes This Way
by mayhemachine
Summary: My First FanFic :O ! Dean Winchester – a few hours after he has been grabbed and raised out of Hell, runs into demons and later hunters who have turned dark. They all are trying to find something that Dean has. A weird young doctor discovers him a week later, fighting for his life.. in Wadesville, a town full of secrets.. DeanxOC, SamxJess, CastielxMeg. Let me know how you feel :)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just the plot, maybe.. :)**

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**Day Seven: 7:59 am**

**I** think he was turning normal... after six days of confusion and mood swings, maybe, finally he was going to be okay.. Maybe that's why he has been sleeping for so long now, I reasoned with myself.

I wondered, again, how he would react when he woke up.. If he woke up..

I stared at the clock, the minute hand seemed languorously slow.. It would be exactly 32 hours as soon as that hand completed another round.. As soon as it was 8:00 am.. I stared around, my neck cracking with protest.. The empty bag of apples lay abandoned near my desk.. Notes and documents on every flat surface available in the room.. I got up to organize everything..

I had found him.. Nearly a week back, terribly injured. If it wasn't for his vice like grip on my wrist when I went to inspect him, I would have thought he would die soon..

_Day One: 3:48 am_

_I was walking back happily from the hospital, looking forward to sleeping my ass off - my night shift had ended early. I was taking my usual shortcut, an alley beside our local mall. It's a pretty large and peaceful town but as usual almost everyone knows everyone. The last crime that took place was a decade back - some jealous lover shot someone's husband.. The only people who have gotten arrested lately are brawlers in the local bars, even that sort of arrest was nearly three months ago. I felt perfectly safe walking down the long deserted alley._

_In fact any concerns for my safety and other paranoid thoughts, were far from my mind as I took comfort in the silence and warmth of the night, and the much invited solitude, which were all miles away from the mental-ness that issues back at the hospital. I was just thinking of taking a new storybook from the library for Rose, a child in my care with a majorly broken arm, when I froze._

_Three men appeared towards the end of the alley and were fighting like they were in a death match._

_I could make out the color of their clothes in the light from the lamp-post. One of them used a crow bar and hit the man in green right across his head making him collapse flat on his face on the sidewalk. Then he, along with the other searched him, found nothing and took off running in the opposite direction._

_After my initial shock had worn out, I had hidden behind a pillar jutting out of the wall on my left till the men had left. I came out of my hiding place and approached the man now lying directly beneath the lamp-post._

_His green t-shirt was riddled with holes, his right arm looked dislocated, a gash on his forehead was dripping blood on the sidewalk, his jeans were slashed and caked with dirt or dried blood, I couldn't make out._

_He kept twitching and looked close to death, when suddenly the light from the lamp-post flickered violently and shot sparks making me take a step back immediately._

_I felt.. I don't know.. I don't know why, or what exactly that feeling was, but it turned my heart into a seething mass of liquid nitrogen, which ran through my veins and turned my brain into a panic-stricken mush._

_I stared around surprised, my mind working at top speed, from all the adrenaline the fight previously, and now this feeling had brought._

_My mind randomly tried thinking of logical explanations because all the lamp-posts and neon signs throughout the street behind me and the alley in front of me, were flickering similarly, shooting off sparks and emitting a sharp, high pitched noise which tried to shred my eardrums into oblivion.._

_It must have taken merely 10 seconds for all of it to stop as suddenly as it had started._

_But then the lamp-post, beneath which he was lying, shone out more brightly than any spotlight at a Broadway theater could and as the light washed over the man, I could see big-there-to-stay-for-days-bruises forming on his arms and face. He had stopped twitching, and weird as I felt it was, I could have sworn his head wound had healed little and was no longer fatal. I was already calling the ambulance, as I kneeled down warily to check him for more damage, ignoring the lights and the sharp sound which was becoming fainter slowly, when my eyes locked with his._

_He could barely open his eyes but was staring at me intensely like he was trying to reach out to my soul or whatever it is that lives in the deepest level of all knowing smugness. _

_"Hello, I have a heavily injured man in the alley between.."_

_He was trying to say something.. "..No doctors.." I thought this man had a death wish. Or I had completely lost my head. Of course he was being crazy from the blow of the crowbar on his head, but he had looked.. so earnest.. and afraid, that I had almost disconnected the phone.. "Can we have an address ma'am?" _

_"Yes, we are in the alley between MaxMart and Loony Louy's Joke Shop. Please Hurry!"_

_I disconnected the phone, my medical training already kicking in as the panic and fear, induced by stupid extra bright street lights and sharp noises, subsided._

_I was the only friendly and below thirty G. P. in the town. I was also a surgical consultant. The nurses were nice, the doctors funny. But the two other G. P.s were ancient and so grumpy that you could make them dance in just tutus and tiaras and you still wouldn't be able to even smile, because they polluted the air with grumpiness wherever they went._

_He was lying on his face still staring at me.. with unmistakable anger I realized with a jolt. I rummaged through my bag and found a new pack of dry antiseptic tissue. I wanted to help with first aid, but since the first time I examined him, I could tell he had many wounds new and old, many of which looked re-opened. I could tell by the way winced, when he breathed that some of his ribs were injured badly._

_He was a well built man, really large, and I was sure I couldn't move him without a little help from someone without causing him further injury, so I just kept myself busy with head wound, cleaning his face as the blood dripped down his nose and chin. I could see that it was not as bad as I had thought the first time I had laid my eyes on him, even the bleeding was stopping as I tended it. But with the rest of his injuries, I had a hard time believing he would survive the night._

_I looked into his eyes again, and again there was that anger. My other hand was resting on the sidewalk behind his head, near his right hand as I cleaned some blood running down his cheek. My fingers must have brushed his, because suddenly he found my wrist and gripped it hard, right at the moment I had looked into his eyes, and he nearly growled out ".. No Doctors.. I said..!"_

_How he could manage to even think of words to form sentences, I cannot imagine. I just stared at him wide-eyed, wincing a little from his grip on my wrist, while I could hear the sirens grow louder and soon flashing lights stopped nearby. I could see in his eyes that he knew he was going to live, and the strength of his grip told me he would not let go of hope.._

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**Well**, it turned out he wouldn't let go of my wrist either..

It's nearly 10 am.. I am reading my compilation of his reports sitting by his bed, it's his seventh day here. He has been sleeping nearly nonstop since night five.. I stretched and an X-Ray slipped out of his reports folder..

I have seen it so many times over the last few days.. it's been engraved into my brains too.. What is IT? WHAT? A part of my mind screamed hysterically.. Well just another case of impossible engravings on bones of a living person, another part supplied sarcastically.

He has OUT-of-the-World symbols INGRAVED on his Entire Fucking RIBCAGE. I mean HOW is that possible? HOW. Maybe extensive surgery.. but STILL! Who gets that done?

I slowly unbuttoned the brown leather band-accessory on my left wrist. I had started wearing it to cover the bruises.. I turned my hand around.. it was still an angry dark blue bordering on black.. a print of his hand..

_Day one: 4:23 am_

_Three orderlies gently turned him around and one of them carefully strapped a neck brace on him the others started checking his vitals and attaching IVs. Slowly they placed him on a stretcher and carried him to the ambulance tagging me along. They had been, for the first thirty seconds, trying to make him release my wrist from his grip without any result except a lot of groaning. I had snapped at them to forget my wrist and hurry him to the hospital. We traveled in the ambulance for not even a minute when we reached. The hospital was just two blocks away from the Mart._

_My hand was still in his grip as I ran along with the gurney, trying hard not to fall down. I could hear him groan and mutter. It sounded like a whole string of amazing curse words in every possible permutation and combination._

_"Dr. Keeper, you should stay outsid- "_

_"I know alright," I panted as we entered the E.R. "but he's not letting go of my wrist!"_

_Dr. Clay, our E. D. made a move to remove his hand, "Look! We have already tried to make him let go, just take him to surgery before he dies!" I yelled, the events of the evening finally getting on my nerves. Or more likely, it was the pain from the pincer-handed-groaning-bleeding-curse-machine's grip on my wrist which was stopping blood flow to my brain and hence making me go loopy._

_Anyway, I promised the doctor I would not be a hindrance, and pointed out he was most probably going to let go as soon as the anesthesia started working, so I'd be out of his hair, sooner than later. It was a thing with doctors, they couldn't work with unfamiliar people. I was just a consultant when it came to surgery, so I never made trips to ORs._

_He let me stay, behind a screen with my hand sticking through the curtains to the operating table where he lay. As soon as green-t-shirt had been prep'd and anesthetized, one of the new nurses, Cindy or Wendy, who had nothing better to do came and started trying to pry his fingers off me. The result? He held on harder. I was sure he was trying to make me amputate at least a few of my fingers by morning for calling the doctors in, by cutting off the blood supply to my hand. I shooed the nurse away._

_That's when I caught a glimpse of him through the curtains, lying on the operating table, a big red gash, which looked really deep running horizontally just below his ribs and disappearing into his back. His chest... was chiseled So were his arms and face. He looked like a bloody Greek statue! But a Greek statue marred with small cuts and bruises on every inch of his skin. His skin which was now cleaned up, had ashened from all the pain and drugs his system was tolerating, making him actually look more like a statue than anything.. an old destroyed statue.. bloodied with war.. God, What was wrong with me.. this wasn't the best time for morbid comparisons.._

_My eyes roamed over his body as I wondered how he had managed to sustain such injuries when something caught my eye. His left shoulder had a burn.. or more like a recently healed burn, all pink and shiny, it was in the shape of a hand.._

_Suddenly, I was itching to touch it.._

_He was stitched, mended, some of his bones, which were dislocated were set right, others which were broken were casted, all his cuts were bandaged. He had two bullets in his calf, they were removed and dressed. I stood throughout the whole process behind the curtain. Someone had brought in a chair, but I kept standing I don't know why, praying that he made it through. I had never seen anyone with as many injuries as his, even when I was interning in the big city._

_A few admins had come in, and asked what had happened.. I had explained, minus the flashy lights, ear-splitting sounds and extra bright lamp-lights. If an electrical fault had taken place, I'd read it in the papers tomorrow.._

_He still had not let my wrist go.. It was 4:23 am when the ambulance had arrived, now it was 8:30 am and he was being moved to a separate private ward with full security. Dr. Clay showed me his X-Ray. God. I am still speechless. What in the world are those symbols? And above all, HOW the hell did he manage to get them etched on each and every bone of his Ribcage? His ribs and sternum, both looked undamaged in every way.., but those symbols.. I was still mulling in my own thoughts when I felt his grip relaxing, I looked up as we entered the ward and saw a frown cross his face and he tightened his grip painfully hard. I winced loudly, I could already see angry bruises developing a few minutes into the operation, but now my wrist hurt even when I flick a finger._

_The doctors were astonished, because he hadn't let go even after the anesthesia but they refrained from using force, because it would injured him further and he only held on tighter every time someone tried to even touch his fingers. They had stopped coming at him, after someone randomly remembered the fact that sometimes emotional trauma caused things like this, and they would only harm the patient if they tried to go against him._

_So there I was laid back on an office chair near his bed with my arm sticking out in front of me. All the muscles of my left arm had seized up from keeping my arm in odd positions since the past three hours. There were all sorts of patient-monitor-machines attached to him, but he dint need life-support systems.._

_I could hear a lot of voices outside the door. I turned my head back to find a few nurses fighting to look through the glass in the door.. I adjusted in my seat, and stared at the machines that monitored the man.. soon, I fell asleep listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beat that filled the room.._

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**Everyone** had started calling him JD initially, as in John Doe, and later JK, when he said he was John Kirk. I knew better than that. I called him Wrist-Grabbing-Nightmare-Inducing-Psycho-Alien, let's see, WGNIPA. Yucks.

I looked at the sandwiches Jake had brought in a while ago.. My head throbbed harder, I was getting really tired of this headache..

He had no wallet, no prints or identity. Just a tattoo on his chest in the shape of a sun with a five-sided star inside it. And a burn in the shape of an extremely large human hand on his left shoulder. It's so strange. Every time I see it I want to touch it..

But I won't.. EVER again.

_Day one: 3:20 pm_

_I woke up so groggy, every part of my body hurting, my neck so stiff.. I stretched.. Wait! I stretched! He had let go of my hand! I brought my hands down.. and looked at my right wrist, the watch showed 3:20 pm.. I looked at my left wrist - swollen and purple. Wow. I needed to pee._

_When I returned to the room, I saw a nurse checking the I. V. She was fidgeting and extremely nervous. I guessed she had seen the freak's X-Rays. By the time he was shifted to the room last night, I think the news about his X-Ray had spread throughout the hospital. On my way from the loo, I think I had heard snippets about "aliens" from just about everyone. Just Awesome. Now the I-will-not-let-go-of-your-wrist-till-you-pee-in-your-pants-menace was an alien. God, I needed a double cheese pizza._

_As soon as she saw me, the nurse only stood long enough to inform me that I was required by the H.O.D. immediately in his office and rushed out._

_Inside the elevator to the fourth floor, where the administrative dragons controlled and oiled the huge machinery called the Wadesville Town Hospital, I felt all eyes on me.. these were friendly people. Well, at least till yesterday they were._

_Today they were looking at me like I was brains and they were zombies. I sighed in relief when few of them got out at the third floor. I even wished them a cheery good day! So much for making me feel uncomfortable._

_Now everyone left in the elevator was smiling nervously at me. I tried chatting with a resident gyno, Dr. Fox, who always had some story or the other of this one funny patient we shared Anne Luther. Dr. Fox seemed almost relieved when we reached my floor, she had done nothing but given a broken smile, each time I had said a sentence. I looked back at her really oddly to find the elevator doors shutting and zombies looking at Dr. Fox like she had turned into brains too._

_Clearing my head, I walked down the corridor, straightening my jacket and shirt, which were both covered with little splotches of blood here and there. I wondered why the police hadn't tried to contact me for my witness statement. My phone was still my jean's pocket, there were no missed calls or texts. And why did the H.O.D. suddenly want to see me, it wasn't even my shift. I knocked and opened the door of the office wondering if I had broken some brand new code of conduct I didn't even know about._

_"Ah! Dr. Keeper! Finally. Your wrist has been attended to I suppose?" Dr. Greene asked jovially as he beckoned me to enter and sit. He sat behind a large black oak-wood table, his office was large and modern. "Um.. Good morning, Sir. No, the nurse sent me up directly as soon as I woke up. I will get it taken care of later."_

_"Be sure to" he smiled sweetly, as if I was going to forget the pain that kept shooting up my arm every few seconds. Felt like Mister Alien had managed to give me more than just bruises. Maybe I'll need that amputation soon._

_"He let go of your wrist as the anesthesia wore off and he fell asleep " he said with concern, looking at me as if trying to read my reactions. "Oh.. " I said vaguely, as if the matter was of no importance. I was really getting edgy, if he didn't tell me soon why he had asked for me, I would burst out with some of the curses I had picked up from the Wrist-Grabber. "Did you have some new instructions for me, Dr. Greene?" I said a little firmly, wishing this meeting was over already. Not that I whined very often, or at all, but I felt whiny enough from all the death-match watching, bone-breaking-wrist-grabbing, praying all night, sleeping in a chair. Even my ears hurt as I suddenly remembered the terrible high pitch sound that accompanied the flickering lights._

_I looked expectantly at Dr. Greene. He was not as ancient as the other two G. P.s and certainly not grumpy at all, but since he managed the administration, I excluded him from my 'Doctors' at Wadesville Hospital List._

_"Well dear.. it seems like you have really injured your wrist trying to keep this strange man from harm." Well, I wanted to scream out that was really a big piece of news for me. I had some really unresolved issues with authority figures I suppose, I was always scared they'd always bring me bad news._

_He continued, "I have also noticed that you have not taken any leave since you joined five years back.. Your holidays have piled up.." Now I was definitely hyperventilating, mentally though._

_I racked my brains going over the past few days trying to find what I had done wrong, cause it sounded like he was definitely suspending me. I stared. " You should take some time-off Dr. Keeper. Really. Holidays keep you sane. But anyway.." he ranted on " you will take the day off today and tomorrow and return on Saturday at sharp 7:00 am and remain with this man for at least 15 hours henceforth, daily. These are your new duties till I change them again. And I will need an updated report on him every evening" I was still staring.. "He will need to be under-observation 24x7, Dr. Ruth will take charge for the remaining 9 hours.."_

_WHAT the F!_

_Firstly he was putting me on such a big case, but taking me off for the first two most crucial days of the patient's life and he was pairing a senior resident up with an intern! I was outraged and it must have shown on my face when he said, "Now don't go thinking that I am an evil bossy devil.. I just want my best all-rounder on this case, and you do know that Dr. Ruth just short of worships you?" He continued on as I felt.. Awestruck? I shook myself mentally, he ranted on._

_"He will listen to every instruction you give and learn from the best.." I was seriously dreaming now because he had called me the best twice in a row now. Not that he didn't praise when it was deserved, but he was really reserved with it._

_"But Sir, I can easily come in the evening and definitely tomorrow morning. I don't want to miss out on the first day.."_

_"No.. you need your rest. That's final.. I will have the others look into it.. they will update you on everything as soon as you come back." and he kept talking after that, but I tuned him out and I took a chance to study the man.. Why was he being so.. STRANGE.. And insisting on stranger things.. He was definitely under some kind of pressure and almost rambling now. I jolted back to the conversation when I heard the word 'alien' Oh No! Not Again!_

_".. Everybody thinks he is an alien, and he has these weird carvings, we sent them to a specialist you know.. They don't know the language.. What is happening.. But he chose you.. he held on to you.. yes, it's perfect that you should take care of him.. you are not affected.. no other doctor wants to go near him.. yes you are perfect.." Now he was really starting to freak me out._

_"But Sir!' I said as loudly as I could without screaming, realizing why the poor man was so distraught._

_He snapped out of it and looked at me, I gave him a __skeptical look and said, "Sir he was fighting with two men, when I first saw him, they beat him up real bad, if he was an alien he would have zapped them" I tried fighting the smile that was tugging at my lips, he was still staring at me._

_I suddenly felt relieved, nearly light headed that he hadn't dished out a suspension or anything, in fact all he was worried about was that he had an alien in his hospital and all the politics and media it was going to attract. That's why there was no police interference either.. he was keeping it under the wraps.._

_"Has anyone sent his blood samples to be examined, Sir?" I inquired politely when he didn't say anything._

_"He has the same blood as humans.. He needed a few bags, he had.. um.. lost a lot?" He said unsurely, "Though we don't know how.. the wounds he had were pretty shallow.. but.." he said. Shallow? His wounds were anything but shallow.._

_"I don't remember anyone talking about blood loss while they were fixing him up.." I thought out aloud interrupting him._

_"Yes, after he fell asleep his blood count nearly halved.. but it miraculously stabilised after what, three bags and one hour.. and by stabilised, I mean, it went back to normal" he said with a visible shiver._

_I raised an eyebrow.. Halved? And then stabilised? One hour? God. What was this human? Or better yet, Was he human? I knew that the blood count could drop in a matter of twenty-four hours, but it needed months to return to normal.._

_"Fine, Sir, I will immediately send for the DNA tests, the routine scans, and complete blood and tissue profiles.." He eyed my wrist with raised eyebrows, "Yes sir, I will get that taken care of and go home too." I stood up, "Today." He chided good-naturedly, as he waved me off. "Today!" I smiled at him and closed the door behind me._

_I took the stairs down to the second floor where he was kept. I stopped at the reception and paged a few people who came to collect blood and tissue samples as I waited in his room. I even told them to get a sweat sample. I drew a routine up for the daily tests and made appointments for his scans during the evening. I assigned them to a very excited Dr. Ruth. I made it very clear, if anything was to happen to the reports or the patient, not only his career, but his life would be on the line. Oh, I was good at threatening people. He pretty much stopped smiling in my presence after that._

_I stood there. Hovering over Mister Alien-Super-Human. He still had machines attached to him as he slept.. he looked very peaceful.. Sharp nose.. full lips, and not a line of pain or anger on his face.. his hair nearly brown it was such a deep shade of blonde.. his forehead in bandages.. his eyelids fluttered.. I wondered what he was dreaming of.._

_My eyes caught the now nearly dark pink burn on his left shoulder, and again I was seized with an urgent desire to touch it.. I had seen a few of the nurses fingering it earlier.. I wondered why I felt so strongly, but I had already aligned my right hand with the print.. I know my hands and feet are really tiny compared to most people, but this print looked like it belonged to a giant.. I gently let my hand rest over the print and - there was a blinding flash of light, which felt as if it had originated from behind my eyes, I could hear that high pitched sound again as it tried to puncture my brains out by poking sharp needles into my ears. My heart was turning as cold as ice when I felt my hand get very hot or very cold, I couldn't figure which, but it was thrown off his shoulder with force and landed at my side with a jerk. The light stopped and so did the sound and there was a knock on the door.._

_I was staring at my hand when the nurse entered the room, I could feel every vein pumping blood into my hand, my fingers and out back. The nurse had come to wrap my left wrist up in crepe. She applied salve and sprays. It was nothing after all.. but it had bruised badly.. I looked up at Mister Alien.. I remembered that there had been Many bruises on his body.. but now only a dozen black ones remained.. and did my hand really jerk off by itself or what exactly had happened?! Did I imagine it..? My brain was at the end of its utility as I stared at the slow methodical movements of the nurse as she bandaged my wrist.. it calmed me somehow.. I sighed heavily. This patient was going to raise a lot of hell._

_When I reached home it was nearly 7 pm. I was dropped off by the hospital car. Apparently, it would pick me up and drop me off daily. You think I was being treated like royalty suddenly? I think it was a milder form of quarantine, to stop me from taking the public bus so that I dint spread "alien" diseases._

_And I was to surprisingly receive all his reports by tomorrow evening itself. They didn't want to have alien samples around in their labs for long either._

_I had a half of a large pizza, lots of mango juice and went to sleep for the next 18 hours, but I kept waking up every three hours with the same feeling I had when I had touched his burn, complete with the light and sound effects. God, I had a terrible headache when I woke up.._

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**Author's Note: Updates on 6th, 15th and 30th of every month.. this story will be one long journey.. I hope you liked it so far.. :) :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. 'Cept maybe_ the weird language_.. :P**

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**Day Seven: 11:10 am**

**God**. I STILL have that headache. It just won't go. Nor will the dreams - touching the print and the show that follows.

My sandwiches still remain untouched as I stare at the clock yet again.. there's nothing to do.. no change in his condition, no change in our routine - test, wait for reports, check the reports, go back to waiting for an hour, then test again.. no change in him..

Have I mentioned before, he has been sleeping since night five..? It is not healthy.. if he goes into a coma, I'll most probably lose my job..

And it's peaceful.. like before a storm.

Every time he had woken up this last week, he had been completely bipolar - violently talkative or violently brooding.. I wish I knew how he was going to be when he woke up this time.

Suddenly, Wendy came into the room - Dr. Greene had returned! Shit. He'd screw me for not following his orders.

But I was highly pissed at the man too! I had been trying to contact him for ages!

But I was glad in a way - I had seen just Wendy, Molly, Jake and a sleeping John for the past 24 hours. No one else was even allowed in the room, except the four of us and Dr. Greene. Some drunk-now-fired-nurse had let slip all of John's.. um.. anomalies.. in a crowded bar! I think, every UFO buff on the planet was born in our town! We can't seem to keep the people out. Everyone wants a good look at the 'alien'.

Really.

We checked his blood and DNA, and RNA, even his mitochondria, got him CAT scans, MRIs and the whole lot of every possible thing that can be called a medical test.

Everything is perfectly normal - Now.

Earlier, it was chaos..

_Day Three: 7 am_

_I reached the hospital exactly at 7am on Saturday, a black sedan had come to pick me up at 6:45 am, I don't know why, but I felt like a spy.._

_I went to his room after a visit to my locker, and found people were still behaving like zombies around me, wanting to eat me up with their questions, but they nearly did not dare to.. I wondered why, all I received were half-curious, half-scared glances.._

_He was sleeping, all his stats were normal.. bruises still visible - angry black patches, around a dozen of them, a few small cuts - rest were healed. Completely. Along with the bullet wounds. I tried not to let it affect me. I had been preparing myself to expect the un-natural around him the since the past two days.._

_Most of the machines around him were gone too, just a heart monitor and a dialysis machine were connected to him. An emergency system stood in the far corner of the room.._

_The bandages on his head and ribs showed a few small patches of blood.. I paged a nurse to get him re-dressed._

_His room was situated very far away from the busier part of the hospital and was larger than the usual private wards I usually went to, it even had its own loo which I had failed to notice earlier. They had set me up a desk and a small cupboard in one of the corners. I sat on the couch reading through his reports the entire morning and noon, paging up the labs when I found something strange.._

_There were just three anomalies, besides the alien-symbols-patterned-ribcage - he had a very high WBC count - usual for a person fighting injuries and hence, infections, but the report said that instead of white, his WBCs were GBCs. As in, they had turned GOLDEN._

_I asked them for a snapshot. They got me four. Every structure and feature of the GBC was the same as WBC, except the__ color__, which was golden. I stared at the images for a good thirty minutes, before moving onto the next report._

_The second anomaly was that they had found protein like structures in the blood, again in varying shades of yellow and golden, but they were not able to break it down to categorise it. I asked for another snapshot and explanations of all the tests they had performed and what they thought it could be. At least three people came in and we discussed every protein known to mankind for the next three and a half hours._

_The third was the MRI. It had the most colorful picture of a brain I had Ever seen in my life. The report said: I don't know what to make of it. I nearly smiled._

_I tried to make sense of the colors and patterns as I got up, stretched and walked over to the Alien. His eyelids were still fluttering.. these were his reports of the tests taken when he was comatose, what will the ones taken yesterday as he slept, show.. they were due in the evening.._

_I walked back to the couch.. staring at all the files spread over the small coffee table.._

_I don't know what to make of it either.. everything contradicted the other in the MRI report.. I paged in the specialist._

_After two hours of frustrating discussion, which had just one conclusion: I don't know what to make of it - we quit._

_He went back to his lab, I strolled over to Alien and checked his stats. Everything was perfect.._

_It was 2:30pm, I wanted to have lunch, the headache from my hand-print-dream was fighting with my will-power to become full-fledged. I tried to keep it at the back of my mind, but it got really annoying because it was present 24x7 hammering behind my eyes.. JustQuitAlready! I yelled at it in my mind and that's when he decided he had to wake up.._

_I was just about to turn when he groaned and tried to open his eyes. I stood very still.. Half panic-stricken from the anticipation of his reaction to his surroundings, half in awe, from expecting something un-natural to take place again.._

_He managed to open his eyes. They were dirty-greenish-grey and intense. He looked around and tried to swallow. His gaze passed over me and stopped at the bed-side table on the glass of water. I broke out my trance and got it for him, he could twitch his fingers but could not move any part of his body. I brought the glass close to his lips and I raised his head a little as he tried to drink. After finishing half of the glass, he laid his head back and stared at the ceiling._

_"How are you feeling?" I asked softly. He turned his head, took a look at me and went back to staring at the ceiling. I frowned and repeated my question and he repeated exactly what he had done before._

_Every time I asked a question, I was met with the same reaction - look at me and then ignore me._

_He did not tell me his name, his home town, his next of kin or if he was still feeling any pain, he did not tell me if he had suddenly turned deaf or dumb either, or if had trouble understanding English. I paged for Mr. Greene. He did not tell him anything either. We ran a few tests again, during which he didn't even turn or flinch or even blink an eye._

_Mr. Greene got really uncomfortable really fast and nearly bolted out asking me to keep him updated on further developments._

_He kept staring at the ceiling, while I sat and stared at him. He was "under-observation" after all. Nurses came in and bustled around, since he was being tested every hour, now that he had woken up. I kept asking him questions randomly - about his injuries, his family, even his favorite color. He just kept staring at the ceiling._

_The only time he reacted again, as in stared at me, for 3 minutes for a change instead of the ceiling was when I asked him if he was angry at me because I had taken him to the doctors. He turned and a flash recognition passed through his eyes, he frowned at me making his pointy nose go even pointier, and stayed that way till the next three minutes._

_"Do you have something to say?" I asked lightly when one minute had passed. He kept staring._

_I tried looking around, but my gaze kept being drawn to his. I stared at the clock on the opposite wall, counting. After what felt like an eternity, I looked at him again. "What?!" I said a little loudly, shifting a little in my chair, now completely uncomfortable and freaked out by.. by this Alien! He smoothed his features and frown was gone, he turned his head and the ceiling captured his attention again._

_It was 10:45 pm when I was really tired, had had enough and wanted to leave, Jake - Dr. Ruth, was one hour into surgery. He had been offered a chance to observe some advanced brain surgery an hour earlier, he had come to ask my for my permission all flustered, nervous and out of breath. "Please Dr. Keeper, I have always wanted to see a neuro-surgery!" he said very fast as he panted " it will only take one and a half hours!"_

_I had nothing better to do at home, so I agreed and relieved him of duty till 11:30.. I still had to wait for another 45 minutes. God._

_The Alien hadn't moved or said a word yet, maybe he was a weird nerd, who was planning to write a paper on ceilings, so he had to observe it, for now what, I calculated, nearly 8 hours continuously. I fidgeted in my seat. I had stopped staring at him a few hours ago, when his reports had come, along with the three excited protein-specialists I had met earlier._

_They explained that his g-protein count - the weird golden protein count had doubled and they were interacting with each other and producing bursts of RBCs. They told me with unashamed delight that they still hadn't figured out what exactly they were. But his RBC count was normal - it hadn't increased._

_I shook my head. All his readings were as perfect as a normal human being's was.. but then he wasn't a normal human being.. AND What if all this 'perfect' was a bad sign for this human/alien-whatever..? How was I to know if he was feeling even remotely perfect as his medical tests showed he was?! Like, for example, being warm-blooded was natural for human beings, but what if he was cold-blooded and we were thinking that since his reports showed perfect warm-blooded characteristics it was a good and healthy sign._

_The guy wouldn't even utter a single word! He was under my care solely, if something was to happen to him.. I nearly growled out in frustration. I stood up and cleaned my desk putting a few of his reports in my bag, I intended to research tonight._

_I took a short break and went to visited Rose. Her arm was much better. Her mother, Judy, a very sweet woman, as old as me, smiled as I entered. Rose was sleeping. She was going to be discharged the day after tomorrow Judy informed me. I checked her stats off the clipboard on her bed side table out of habit, reassured Judy and left._

_I had to get her the book she had asked me for before this whole fiasco started and I was stopping by the library anyway for research tonight._

_As I entered his room, I saw Nurse Wendy, whom I had left in charge, violently waving her hand in front of Alien's face. I laughed softly and she stopped and looked up, turning red from embarrassment. I had finally started to keep her name in mind. She was an extremely sweet person with wide innocent eyes. She wore her heart on her sleeve and was the kindest person I had met in a long time._

_"You don't want to be doing that, he might turn violent and blow up the hospital, you know" I said sternly as I entered the room and she stiffened up._

_"It doesn't work anyway, I tried it already" I said with a smile, and she visibly relaxed at that._

_I came up to stand next to her and stared at him.. he was still staring at the ceiling but he looked better than he had in the evening.. but.. it was surprising he didn't show any signs of sleeping. With his injuries, he should have not stayed up for more than an hour and now it was already eight.._

_"He didn't even blink an eye, Doctor.." she whispered softly. I nodded, "Do you think he's an alien?" she asked as I looked into her eyes and nodded again - "No.. I don't think so.." I said as softly as she did, "..but he is not completely human either.."_

_Wendy headed back to her station a few moments later, leaving me to stare at him. "You know you can talk if you want.." I said as I started, what I knew was going to be a monologue, ".. no one is here to harm you. If you could just tell me or anyone, anything, even your name.. " I looked at him earnestly.. "You know I saw you fighting off those two guys.. I should have done something and maybe you could have gotten away.. but I dint, I just hid there, scared.. and everything happened too fast for me to react.." I ranted on. I knew there was nothing I could have done during the death match, it was way too dangerous and Way too fast, but I still felt so guilty - if I had interfered somehow, maybe the outcome could have been different.._

_"..I know you didn't want doctors, but I am one myself.. and my whole job is on line because you refuse to speak.. I know you can talk, and you can definitely hear us And understand us.. at least you could let us know when you are not feeling well, we are here to help you, you know.." I paused, "I know why you are fighting off sleep.. you won't be harmed as long as you are in this room.. you can at least try to sleep.. it will.." I trailed off, his features had arranged themselves into a frown, "..help to heal you faster." I finished._

_He looked at me, and then into my eyes like he had done the other night - trying to look deep inside me.. or at least that's what I thought he was doing. I dint know if it was a way of greeting people in Alien.. My heart was beating extra hard now. Not fast, just hard and loud. I wondered if he could hear it. He pulled out of the gaze and looked at the bedside table and the glass of water longingly._

_Just like that, my heart beats became normal and I helped him drink like I had done earlier that the morning. I settled the glass back on the table and looked at him. He was not staring at the ceiling. But he was looking at me like he was trying to memorize every detail on my face, his eyes moving across my face. I was frowning by the time his eyes reached my eyes again. Then he closed his eyes, sighed heavily and fell asleep in about two seconds._

_I rolled my eyes. So much for getting him to speak a word._

_I could hear Jake stomping outside the door already, I grabbed my bag thanking God that He dint make Jake an elephant - the world couldn't handle such an excited elephant at any cost. He nearly collided with me as he opened the door and tried hard not to run into the room. I wondered if he would ever learn to Walk in this lifetime._

_"All yours!" I said happily, as I left the room. He couldn't control the cheeky grin that broke out on his face. He was young and Always hyper, trying to help everyone at the same time. I liked his enthusiasm. And not that he had ever made a mistake - he was a brilliant student, but I remained stern with him just for caution's sake. He could have gone to any big med-school - he had an amazing aptitude, but he chose to stay near his family and joined WadesVilleTownHospital._

_WVTH is Pretty good too, but a city offers better exposure than a large-small-town._

_Anyway, I told the driver - Tom, to take me to the library instead of home. I researched till 4 am and walked back home. The library was just a block away._

**##**

**I** remember how that research had gone waste. The day that followed was etched, seared into my brains. I thought even a million lifetimes would not erase it. Everything I heard that day - God. E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. was the stuff of fantasy stories. John was to explain me everything yesterday, I felt lost without the answers.

I had been happy, when I had decided that I'd readily forget all the crazy stuff happening around him the moment he was discharged, but now curiosity was eating at me, at my patience.

Suddenly, I shivered violently, even though I had dressed extremely warmly for the weather. Jake gave me a concerned look. He has been watching me too closely since morning.. its late evening now.. I looked at the thing that had made me shiver - John's lips - they reminded me of the language John had been speaking a since he became conscious - it was eerie.

Just completely EERIE. Yes. I know I am still kind of panic-stricken. You would be too, if you had to hear such strange hair-raising sounds.

I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Everyone was creeped out to the nth level by it. He used to be laden with bandages till day four, hardly able to move and he would try to talk to us, and when we wouldn't understand, the angry muttering would start which was the part that freaked us out. You could feel every particle in the room vibrate as he spoke. God, of course I was silly. How is that possible anyway! But I remembered clearly what I had felt... and seen and heard..

_Day Four: 6:49 am_

_I slept for two hours, freshened up and headed back to the hospital in the car chewing on an apple, the dream-induced headache clanking in my head like at least a gahzillion lost pinballs. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's lunch. I decided to order something from the cafeteria as soon as I reached. I didn't even have to go to the locker room any more since everything I had, had been shifted to Alien's room. I was really liking and getting used to the casualness and no-rule following.._

_I paged Wendy for a sandwich and some coffee. Apparently, I could eat in the Alien's room if I dint dirty around - I think it was just another quarantine measure, to prevent me from taking 'alien-germs' to the cafeteria. I was glad to be rid of the zombie people anyway._

_I entered his room and started checking off the charts. A sweet old nurse was there in the room, she kept staring at me as I started examining him._

_"Do you have anything to say Molly?" I read off her name tag, as I shone a torch beam and peered into John's left eye._

_She rocked on her heels, as I waited, "The cut on his forehead and below his ribs have healed.. completely!" she whispered, her eyes showing the fear she felt. I stared._

_"You dressed him up again anyway?" I asked, incredulously, as I ran out of all sensible questions and statements while my brain tried to re-boot again. And again._

_She nodded hard, " I did not know what else to do, Dr. Ruth told me to. He asked me to give you this.." She handed me an envelope._

_I asked her to remove the bandages, as I pocketed the envelope. I was still reeling from the fact that she had said 'completely' … what, What, WHAT._

_All but a light blue line, hardly visible on his fair skin, remained as scars, on his forehead and ribs.._

_"Even the scars have healed!" Molly nearly screamed as she cut opened the bandages to reveal beautiful smoothness, instead of puckered skin held together by stitches. I could just gape, my jaw dropping open._

_We both just stood there and stared, as I ran a finger across the blue line below his ribs and the older nurse, just kept muttering "gone, gone, gone.."_

_"Has Dr. Greene been informed of this?" I asked sharply, pulling myself together._

_"No, he couldn't be reached" she whimpered. "There were ugly scars right here last night, Doctor!" she pointed out at the blue lines, "You can ask Dr. Ruth!"_

_"I believe you Molly. Now, did Dr. Ruth take any X-rays?"_

_"Yes, he did. But his bones weren't healed, just the big cuts"_

_I could see that the small cuts all over his body which had formed soft scabs were hardening, a dozen bruises remained unchanged.._

_I asked her to bandage up him again and dismissed the tired old thing who was still blubbering a little. Thank God for the NDAs we sign at the hospital - it wouldn't do anyone good if this got out, I reminded her of it as she left and called for a check-up. It was due in half an hour, but I wanted it done as soon and as fast as possible._

_The room bustled with nurses and technicians soon, and I sat on my desk eating a sandwich. I had tried to contact Dr. Greene, but he wouldn't respond. I had sent Wendy up to his office, but he wasn't there._

_Alien woke up when the X-ray tech bent his arm in a different angle. He growled as he found out so many faces staring at him. He shut his eyes, letting everyone do their jobs._

_I pushed myself off the desk and walked to him, "how are you feeling?" Everyone was silent, watching us. His eyes were still closed. I was going to repeat my question when he said something I couldn't catch. "What..?"_

_"Travu!" he repeated urgently. I threw a questioning glance at Wendy who was standing on the other side of his bed, with a confused expression._

_"TRAVU!" He barked, and finally opened his eyes to look at me. I was completely at a loss - oh, so he was feeling 'travu'.._

_"Travu.." he flicked his eyes helplessly to the glass of water beside me and started his ceiling-staring with a big frown on his face. He was thirsty. I helped him to drink again and this time he finished off two glasses. It made me insanely happy. I don't know why._

_Travu.. I knew a few languages.. it dint sound like anything I had heard before.. Was it Sanskrit? I stopped thinking. God. The hated headache increased with a vengeance._

_Few of the people who had finished their tests, had left to spread gossip and claim that they had added one alien word to their Alien-vocabulary._

_I had just finished checking his eyes again, when he turned his head towards me and started talking at full speed!_

_His right hand had clutched my white coat and pulled down, making me sit on his bed. I looked at him, while he nearly sang out unknown words.. They were complex, beautiful and so foreign that they raised every last hair on my body.. I could feel the others shiver too. His green-grey eyes pleaded and turned dark with pain, his lips shaping words which were nearly lyrical, filled with deep sadness and anger.. they flowed like lava deep in my bones.._

_He would talk for an insanely long period, and look at me questioningly.. and then repeat the process._

_I understood that all he was doing was asking questions. I shook my head causing him to stop, his eyes wide and imploring as he searched my face for any sign which was not confusion.._

_The sentences in his language were enormous._

_I told him that we were not understanding what he was saying._

_"Kurth drammr nasu niyeta ninanpurah riniyaki vedadhanti.. kinte nukyta.. ?" he said dejectedly.. suddenly jerking as his eyes went wide.._

_"Kurth drammr nasu niyeta ninanpurah riniyaki vedadhanti.. kinte nukyta.." he whispered softly to himself, and while his eyes started searching the walls and the ceilings desperately._

_I think he had realized that he was not speaking English.. and then the chaos began. Though his left arm and ankle were fractured and his right shoulder and thigh still inflamed from the dislocations, he thrashed around madly, trying to - speak English I guess. He was screaming with all his might shouting words which sounded completely meaningless, but made us understand nonetheless, what his agony was and how deep his scars ran. He had knocked the flashlight from my hand and I had just managed to jump away from his reach. Someone near the door had had the sense to call up the orderlies. They restrained him, while he was tranquillized and put to sleep again._

_He had managed to disconnect all the machines when he was thrashing. I prayed he would fall asleep soon.. He had kept muttering under his breath till he had fallen asleep, glaring if any one went near him.. the air would fill with a strange tension and something else nobody could put a finger on every time he started chanting.. everyone in the room was highly freaked and creeped out.. one of the oldest nurses and one of the youngest ones, had actually screamed 'monsters are coming, it's the end of the world' before running out of the room at full speed.. a few of them, had tears in their eyes, and they dint know why. WHATtheHELL.. I thought he was just cursing and swearing.. but no one, not even I could shake off the feeling of dread that came with his words.._

_I dispersed everyone and went back to my desk to start writing a big report for Dr. Greene.. Where the hell was he? He had missed out on all the drama! And now that I came to think of it - magic. He had missed out on magic.. There was something that had happened today as Alien had started speaking.. like something ancient was waking up again.. it had felt like the air in the room was singing along with his words.. in fact, something still tingled in the room like dust does in winter when caught in a beam of sunlight.. What the F._

_I stopped myself from going all poetic and concentrated on writing the report, telling myself it was nothing, just that Alien had an over-bearing personality._

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**Author's Note: _Travu_ means _Water_ here, and the whole other sentence: "****_Kurth drammr nasu niyeta ninanpurah riniyaki vedadhanti.. kinte nukyta.. " _****means – "..****_you are not understanding what I am saying.. but why.. " - _****Its a completely invented language. :P**

**Do tell me if you liked it, or disliked it :O**

**_And pattibon, _****_phoebe lou-la, DarkBelowZ and back2vintage_**! You hold a special place in my heart! :)

**_Will try to keep you all interested in this story! :) :)_**

**Reviews on 6th, 15th and 30th of every month.. except this month – this is a little early, cause I have exams the next three weeks..**

**Seeya on 30th or 6th!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Discalimer: I own nothing.. :)_

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_A/N: Sorry this is a very short one - had exams and interviews - didnt get the job.. :'( will post a huge chapter next week.._

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_Day Four: 5:30 pm_

_It was nearly 5:30 pm by the time I had finished my report for Dr. Greene and read two of Alien's reports - one from when Jake must have discovered he had healed, and the other from the check-up which I had ordered that morning. His gashes were completely healed, right till the last muscle, and everything else was 'normal'. I had also made another detailed file containing extensive notes on him. It was more like a journal of everything I knew about him. I just had to add Jake's records. I had read them, it was nothing new.. Suddenly I remembered the envelope he had left for me. I rummaged through the papers on my desk and found it,_

_**Dr. Erika Keeper**_

_it said in large fonts. I opened it and pulled out a note._

_**Dr. Keeper,**_

_**I do not know how to tell to you this without being downright hysterical.**_

_**But we need to talk about JD. I could have told you everything in this letter, but it might have gone into the wrong hands.**_

_**It will take just a few minutes..**_

_**Please, please meet me at 7:00 pm in Harry's. I will be waiting for you.**_

_**Jake Ruth**_

_I read it again. "Um.. okay" I said out aloud to no one in particular.._

_Jake needed to talk about Alien.. AND he was going to be hysterical. I wondered if I could deal with a hysterical Jake as easily as I tolerated an excited Jake.. I used to see him in Alien's room the first thing in the morning and the last thing when I left, daily.. He had seemed his usual self. What was it that couldn't have been discussed in the hospital..? And God. It felt like I had been assigned to him for ages, when it had been just four days.._

_I walked over to Alien's bed.. he was stirring.. I really wanted to know what his name was, even if he said it in Alien-ish._

_I studied him.. I had left his forehead and ribs bandaged to stop a fresh round of rumors from spreading. Dr. Greene was to be informed first. Only Jake, Molly and I knew about it._

_He had a sharp nose, long lashes and a strong jaw-line.. his lips were parted as he breathed softly.. I wanted to see him smile, something told me it would make him look really mischievous. He looked almost healthy, his skin glowed beneath a light stubble of light brown-blonde hair growing along his jaw line, and his lips were pink and maybe soft.. he looked so much better - almost healthy again.. _

_As my eyes moved down to trace his jaw-line he shifted uncomfortably in his sleep as if he could feel my scrutiny.. STOP staring you lecherous psycho, you are making him uncomfortable, I mentally scolded myself - when did I start looking at guys again.. even if they were um.. so.. perfect like him!_

_I had gone through two bitter breakups during the first few years of med-school.. after that I had become - just a - human. I did not know any better way to put it._

_To me, male/female had stopped holding any meaning except in medical terms. I treated everyone like a human and not as a girl/boy or woman/man and expected the same treatment in return. I hadn't dated in seven years and kissing was the only sexual experience I had._

_Yes, I was a freak._

_My parents were very conservative and had sent me to an all girls school from childhood till college.. The first two boyfriends I had at med-school, who I thought I was in love with, turned out to be jerks. So I married my work.. and I had known anyway, since I was in the eight grade, that I needed nothing but books and extra cheese pizza to survive._

_So that was my life - I was twenty-seven, single, the friendliest G. P. in the town.. I cooked a mean.. well, anything I wanted, I visited my parents and brother living in New York, every year at Christmas just for a day, and talked with them once a month to know how they were doing. I talked with my best-friend, Tracy, every Sunday, for three hours without fail.. she was the only thing that had remained constant in my life since the eleventh grade, even when my family had changed.. for the worse.._

_I danced and rock-climbed and watched/read sci-fi when I was free, I had brown eyes and black hair with feckles of brown, a permanent tan, a fit body and a large house.. and if I had a huge vault, I would like to take a daily swim like Uncle Scrooge did in that Disney cartoon, though, not in a pool of money and coins, but in a pool of books. My favorite haunts were - libraries and bookstores._

_I had been standing by his bed for 45 minutes now, lost in my thoughts, about my life and about what Jake had to say.. I wondered when was the last time I did so much useless thinking.._

_It was 6:25 pm and he was waking up.. I picked up the glass of water and eyed him apprehensively as he opened his eyes, looked around and realized where he was, sadness filling up his eyes. He turned to me, as I raised the glass questioningly, he nodded. I helped him to drink._

_I was placing the empty glass back on the table, when he flexed his right hand, then his whole right arm and started trying to sit up._

_"No, don't. You are to keep lying down" I said as I tried to push him back, careful not to touch the burn on his shoulder accidentally. I wouldn't touch it ever again, even if you paid me._

_He growled, stopping midway, and stared at me furiously. I stared back expressionlessly. I suddenly had had enough of the Growling. Grrr..! I growled mentally, myself._

_"Keep lying down, you are injured, remember?" I said sarcastically. He kept staring angrily, but why would he listen me, the high n mighty Alien. Huh. He huffed and puffed but managed to push himself up, arranged the pillows behind his back with his right hand and collapsed back on them with a sigh. Every time I had tried to come close to help, he had tried to shove me away. I had stepped back, observing._

_He did look very healthy. His X-Ray report from morning and afternoon showed that his bones were still broken. I wondered if they had healed.._

_He was speaking in that language again, but making signs with his hands.. I shivered as the air and my bones vibrated in sync with his words.. He wanted a.. my phone.. ?_

_I frowned and slowly held out my phone for him. He snatched it, typed something and returned it to me. I saw the screen,_

**Cheeseburger. Cold Beer.**

_I laughed. He frowned._

_"You know you cant have those, right?" I asked him amused. He had refused to eat since the day he had woken up, and now he wanted a beer!_

_He looked at me pointedly. _

_"Sorry.. " I trailed off.. I still dint know his name. I held out my phone for him and said, "Tell me your name.."_

_He kept staring at me, making no move to take the phone. . ._

_"I'll buy you a cheeseburger later if you tell me your name and eat what I get for you now.. I promise it will taste nice.." I offered. If I had known him better, I would have been sure that he was pouting._

_He took my phone and typed._

**John Kirk.**

_I frowned as I glanced at the little screen when he held up my phone. I smiled internally. It wasn't his real name. And I could tell he knew that I knew._

_I smirked at him and called Wendy for bringing up some chicken soup, sandwiches and a glass of milk. I could see the disapproval in his eyes at the mention of milk._

_The phone was still in his hands, "Does anything.. else hurt?" I gestured feebly at his form, stressing on 'else'. He shook his head._

_I don't know why I couldn't look away from his gaze. His eyes had pinned mine mercilessly._

_"Where are you from?" I asked, trying to ignore how awkward I felt. He looked down to type, I mentally sighed in relief. What was with his intense staring! Was he trying to burn my retinas?_

**Old Lake, Oklahoma.**

**What is your name?**

_I read as I took the phone from him. "Erika Keeper" I smiled and said, my eyes going to the top corner of the screen and I saw it was already 7:05 pm. Wendy had just entered the room with a tray of food. I put her in-charge and asked her not to leave the room. At ANY Cost. I got John a pen and some paper from my desk and told Wendy I'd be back before 8:00 for sure and she was to call my cellphone if anything came up._

_I dumped my white coat on the chair, grabbed the journal I had made earlier, my bag & jacket and rushed off to the diner - Harry's, which was just across the road._

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Next post on 6th! Jake will reveal what's bothering him!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I disclaim everything! Happy? :P :D

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**Day 7: 5:00 pm**

Jake just informed me that Dr. Green had left again. I am outraged. What is wrong with the man. He didn't even think of checking up on his most prized patient? And come on! It is common courtesy to return calls, especially when I had called him exactly 23 times since yesterday evening. On his emergency number. I don't even know how many times Jake and the others had called.

Jake came sat beside me. He had been very helpful and hadn't even taken a break since yesterday evening. He rested his head on the couch and stared at me openly. He thought I wasn't looking - I had been staring at the wall clock since the past half an hour.. It was nearly five pm now..

I grew very uncomfortable and pulled my scarf closer.

"I still haven't screamed at you for what you did the other day! Don't test your luck.." I said, without moving my eyes from the clock. He quickly looked away and pretended to take a nap. I rolled my eyes..

_Day Four 7:10 pm_

_Jake was sitting in a tiny semi-circular couple's booth which was far away from the crowd and very private. I frowned as I made my way to him. Even though he was twitching a lot, many girls over by the bar were eyeing him. He was really handsome I suppose, with extra broad shoulders and a cute boyish face. He looked exceptionally good - um.. hot in the loose black shirt he was wearing untucked over dark blue denims, his short dark hair messed up sexily.. That's the second time today, love, I reminded myself. Maybe I was having a bad case of staying-virgin-for-too-long. Strikeout the maybe._

_He sighed in relief when he saw me. I could see three empty beer bottles on the table, and a glass of whiskey he was nursing. Okay. So this was going to be one mental conversation._

_He was sitting at one end of the maroon semi-circular seat, in front of a giant window with open blinds. I sat at the other end, directly in front of him._

_"Hello.. You look really tired.." I said as I shrugged my bag and jacket off, taking in the darkness that had started showing under his clear grey eyes._

_He struggled with words, fidgeting and stared helplessly at his glass which he was holding so tight that his knuckles had turned extra-white. Six minutes passed. I raised an eyebrow._

_"Look at me." I ordered. He had completely refused to look anywhere even near me as he fidgeted._

_He did, slowly, almost flinching when his eyes met mine. He closed his eyes quickly, let out the breath he was holding in and then stared at the wall behind me and swallowed hard. He looked like he had seen a ghost._

_"Calm down.." I said softly, staring at his face and removing the glass of whiskey gently from his grip. He nodded._

_A red head with bright green eyes, few years older than me, came up and asked for our order, I looked at Jake. He shook his head. "Two medium chicken burgers and two chocolate shakes" I said. She smiled and left._

_I looked at Jake, who was shredding a paper napkin now, twitching again, still staring at the wall behind my head. I took the napkin from his hands, balled it up and put it into the glass of whiskey. His hands were very cold._

_Now he was watching the tissue-ball soak up the whiskey and melt.._

_I narrowed my eyes. He had to talk. Now. He was wasting both our times._

_It was nearly 7:35. I texted Wendy to remain in Alien's room till 9:00._

_Mahn. This was going to take time._

_"You know I am on duty right now, Jake, don't you?" I said, folding my arms across my chest and sitting up straighter. He nodded, and after a few attempts, he started talking to the salt-dispenser._

_"D-Don't interrupt me when I s-say it.. or I will not be able to start a-again.. I don't think I am sure if I'll know any a-answers either.. " I nodded, not sure if he saw. _

_"I-I think he is driving me mad.. I haven't slept a-at all since the night I was a-assigned to him.. __When.. When my shift had ended that first morning, the hand-print on his shoulder.." he glanced at me, I nodded at him to go on._

_"..it had caught my eye and I had such an uncontrollable u-urge to touch it.." he spat out the last two words harshly, cradling his head in his hands almost regretfully and continued on, ".. and when I did.. I know it will sound so mental.. b-but.. I-I had a.. a.. v-vision.." my eyes grew wide, I could related to the uncontrollable urge he was talking about, but a Vision?_

_"He was there in it, and looked.. like an a-angel, with wings and all.. He kept saying that Erika Keeper should help me at all costs.." he paused to take a breath, looking at me as if I was about to interrupt. I was. But he started off again before I could say anything._

_I was sitting like an expressionless statue by now.. WHAT was one supposed to say to something like _that_? Was I even supposed to believe what he was saying?_

_And I swear I would have called the mental-care-center by now to admit Jake, if I hadn't experienced touching the burn myself.._

_"..I had thought at that time, that ultimately my excitement was getting the better of me, and dismissed the matter, but I kept dreaming about the whole incident and the vision every time I tried to sleep.. I went back the next night and just to prove myself wrong, I-I touched it a-again. There was such a blinding flash of light in the room that I thought my eyes were punctured.. " he shuddered at the memory._

_"I have a really bad headache ever since and the dreams wont go.." he trailed off as the pretty red head came towards us, placed our orders on the table, and took away the wasted beer bottles and the whiskey glass, smiling encouragingly at us the whole time. I frowned, maybe to an outsider we must have looked like a couple on their first date. I scoffed mentally._

_Jake looked like he was trying not to puke while he stared at his burger. I took a small bite and said, "Eat, its really good.. it will help." He bit into it and started chewing slowly, frowning hard at the burger every few seconds. We ate in silence. I observed him._

_A vision.. I thought slowly as I tried to wrap the idea around my head.. you mean random images that showed Alien as an angel? Alien, oh fine, John. Or John was telepathic and had placed them in Jake's head. Or someone else had placed them in Jake's head. Or, wait. Did I say telepathic? And did I say someone placed images in someone else's brains? Was I loony? Or was Jake finally going loony? Or maybe he had a very random, very vivid dream, because he was thinking too much about John being an alien. Or he was daydreaming with too much caffeine in his system.. or opiates.. I stopped that thought._

_I needed stop watching/reading sci-fi too. Telepathic. Really._

_And I was to help John at all costs? I didn't know what to make of that at all. I was helping him at the cost of my sanity, wasn't I..?_

_He was experiencing the headache too, my own headache increased at the reminder - no aspirin, paracetamol or mefenamic acid had helped.._

_I could see Jake still struggling with something, looking everywhere and then at me repeatedly.. I guessed it was the part he was extra-scared of, because he had broken out into a sweat.._

_"Hey.. " I said softly, and he looked at me.. with pity? What? Why?!_

_"Do you want something else, some ice-cream.. ?" the pretty red-head had returned to clear away our plates._

_"Later, maybe." I smiled, pointing to our untouched chocolate shakes._

_"You, dear?" she asked Jake. He just shook his head politely._

_"God! Spit it out, Jake!" I said harshly as soon she had disappeared. I had crossed my arms and legs tightly and was sitting ram-rod straight again, nearly pouting at him. All his twitching and nodding and staring at walls, whiskey glasses and empty plates was about to make me a nervous wreck too. I was going to start twitching violently myself if he did not say what he wanted to. It was nearly 8:15. I had decided to walk away at 8:45, with or without knowing what he had to say. I was the one who was assigned to John, after all, not Wendy._

_He was startled at my tone, but started talking with more resolution, still staring at the wall behind me._

_"You must have seen the larger cuts on his body have healed. I was there when it happened."_

_I cocked my head to one side, and he continued, "It was 4 am, he was asleep, but muttering things in some language I didn't understand.. but the sound of the words.. they vibrated deep in my bones.." his eyes glazed over for fraction of a second and he paused and inhaled deeply._

_"I was alone in the room, watching him from behind the desk.. when.. " he stopped. I raised an eyebrow impatiently. He slowly moved his eyes to look into mine. As I straightened up further, eager to hear what had happened next, he whispered, ".. when I saw.. there was a golden-ish light coming out from beneath his bandages.."_

_My eyes went wide.. I could not believe what I was hearing! I couldn't move a muscle either._

_We just stared at each other._

_I bet he was wondering whether he had done enough damage, for me to hand him over to mental-care._

_I knew what _I_ was wondering - if I should hand Myself over to mental-care. Or go to an ENT. WAS I even hearing right? Or if I was hearing right, was I processing it right? I think I had stopped processing altogether._

_"And that's not the worst part of it.." he said softly._

_I did not thinking I could widen my eyes more without pulling a few muscles. _

_I closed my eyes, and exhaled loudly, nodding at him to continue. There was something worse than magical healing golden lights. Wow._

_"It had stopped by the time I had ran over to his bed. I had immediately called Nurse Molly and we had removed the bandages. There was just a very ugly scar at both the places, I examined them and bandaged him up quickly again - I wanted to let you know first." he gestured at me feebly, but continued, "I sent Molly to page for a check-up - both our pagers had died! She was gone, when I had leaned over him to check the I. V. and accidentally the burn came into contact with my thumb!" he said hysterically as he rubbed hard at the skin near his left thumb nail._

_"He - you - " Jake cleared his throat loudly._

_"I had a vision again.. He was there. But so were you." he whispered by the last word. His eyes were filled with fear, sadness and awe.. and.. something else, I couldn't figure what, as he looked at me almost ..reverently..?_

_I was blinking rapidly. Oh, this cant be good! I uncrossed my arms and reached for the chocolate shake with shaky hands. He followed and leaned on the table, his elbows resting flat on the dark polished wood._

_I wanted to walk away, not sure why I was even listening to all this anyway. Or letting it affect me so much much. I felt so numb inside._

_"What did you see?" I asked a few cold and soothing sips later. He had been staring moodily into his shake as he toyed with the straw._

_"I saw.." he sighed heavily and laid his head back on the seat with a thump. He looked almost angry as he started talking really fast, his eyes scanning the ceiling. "I saw you and.. him eating together in a house. You kept calling him Dean.. Dean Winchester.. Then the scene changed, there was a snow storm outside and - " he closed his eyes, regulated his breathing and continued, "you were sleeping in his arms in a.. very strange room. Then there was a yellow car and a really tall, dark haired man who was dining with the both of you.. This new man - h-he desired you.. you d-desired him too.." he paused, I was clutching my drink, frowning very hard. The headache pounded behind my eyes with a vengeance._

_He continued on with his highly impossible descriptions.. _

_"Then there was a different scene, both you and JD were angels - with wings and halos.. one moment you were going to kiss him.. the next you.. y-you lay dead in his arms, your wings crumbling away, your halo gone and s-someone kept s-saying 'Dean, she was not your destiny' and he c-cried and kept yelling out your name.." he finished, his eyes still closed. A drop of sweat ran down his forehead into his hair._

_I was sitting up really straight, unmoving, staring at Jake, but shivers were playing havoc down my spine. I think, I had stopped breathing a long time ago. _

_WHAT THE FUCK. _

_FUCK. Fuck. F-U-C-K._

_My mind raced through every detail he had provided, dismissing each one with a rational explanation. Me and John/Dean eating in a house together? Nope. Not possible. Why would we be in the same house?! Same for 'sleeping in his arms'. I didn't know of any 'strange rooms' and we din't have snow storms in this area, and I hadn't planned any vacations to snowy places. Ever.._

_Neither did I know of any yellow cars or very tall men with dark hair._

_I nearly laughed out, when I thought of the next part - me, an angel? I certainly never had NOR have wings or halos, and there was no reason for me to lay dying in John's arms, OR for him to cry over me. Only possible explanation was, maybe we were in a play together or something.. ? I had been thinking of taking acting lessons a few months back.._

_But a stupid voice in my head floated in, saying, "that is why they are called visions, stupid.. if they haven't happened yet, they will happen in the future.." I shut it down. No more Sci-fi for me, definitely. But Jake.. is that why he was looking at me 'reverently' earlier in the evening? He thought I was some kind of.. angel? Was that why he was doing exactly what I was ordering him to do throughout the evening?_

_It had been several minutes, now, nearly 9:10 pm. I was at a complete loss for what to say, or do, or think for that matter. Suddenly, I was worried about Wendy. If something had happened, Wendy would have called, I assured myself.. but what if something had happened to Wendy, my mind retorted cruelly.. but I still couldn't make myself move.._

_Jake had opened his eyes a few minutes back and was now staring morosely at a lamp-like thing beside me, which had rainbow colored bubbles moving inside it. He was hyperventilating._

_Maybe touching the burn somehow injected hallucinants in your system, I thought randomly.. it made more sense than any other theory._

_I looked at the leaves dancing against the glass window behind Jake's seat._

_'..Dean, she was not your destiny..'_

_My mind repeated the words, and suddenly, I knew what to do. It was his destiny, not mine. Visions were not confirmations at all.. the future was always unknown.. visions were just _Indicators_ of what_** Might**_ happen.._

_And what the hell - - I did not believe in destiny. Suddenly, I felt nearly embarrassed for being so worried.. who was I to control anything, except my own life? And who were destiny and a stranger - who induced-crappy-visions-in-innocent-people-And-heal-in-record-time, to control my life?!_

_I huffed. Jake jerked and stared at me. He had taken the visions too seriously and even managed to scare me with all the fidgeting and morose staring, like I was already long dead. Maybe he was an EXTREMELY sensitive person, or.. the visions must have been too real for him to get so very upset.._

_"Its not a death sentence you know" I said carefully, locking my gaze with his and smiling tentatively I knew my face was THE picture of calmness as I spoke. He took one look at it and the she-has-lost-her-mind expression appeared on his face. He had thought I'd be scared or freaked. I was. But he didn't need to know that._

_"Look.. I am not doubting what you saw, Jake.. but these.. 'visions' can change and I might not die.. and everybody dies Jake, whether its today or tomorrow or when they grow angel wings.." I joked._

_He looked at my face, as if searching for something, "Angels are not supposed to die.." he said very quietly, and looked away. _

_I frowned, now confused.. he was worried that angels might die..? He was having 'visions' for God's sake, he shouldn't be worried about angels dying!_

_Maybe he was a religious person and I had offended him.. this whole situation was very.. Oh! I don't know what! It felt like my world was changing because of this stupid John Kirk and his seriously weird biological tendencies._

_Jake had given me all the facts, but none of his opinions. I wanted to know what he thought about all this. I knew he was very scared and very fascinated, but he had none of the energy and excitement that used to twinkle in his eyes all the time. I wanted to help, if I could. I calculated. I was two years older than him, five years senior at work, I wondered if we could be friends, if it was at all appropriate.. I am seriously weird.. I don't know why I think so much.._

_I moved in my seat and sat next to him. I turned his face towards me, he stiffened at the nearness._

_"I know I have been very strict with you.. do you think we can leave the professionalism back at the hospital and be friends?" I asked simply._

_He frowned, studied my face for a long time, but nodded._

_"So will you tell me what's bothering you..?" I asked._

_He thought for a while, then slowly took my left hand and gently unbuttoned the leather-strap-accessory I had been wearing to hide the black bruise in shape of a hand print. He rotated my forearm and looked at it intently.. I wondered if he had seen a vision about this too. I watched him as he examined my wrist._

_"They say you have been chosen by him." he said finally strapping the leather back softly. I took back my hand._

_"Who says that?"_

_"Everyone. Everyone at the hospital knows about how he didn't let go of your wrist.. What if he has chosen you, what if all these visions are true? I.. I worry about you. I do not want anything to happen to you and these-these visions..!" he inhaled sharply._

_"I - You are one of the best doctors here and I have grown to admire you and - a-and I have grown to care for you.. " he rushed on, his eyes wide, flushing darkly. He looked away again, clearly embarrassed._

_I raised my eyebrows. So.. he had a crush on me? He was 'worried about me' and did not want 'anything to happen to me'..? I frowned mentally. Aaand he was having visions of other men 'desiring' me. I rolled my eyes at the situation. I had been nothing but strict with this boy, we weren't close enough for him to be 'worried about me'.. Now I was worried about this situation.._

_I patted his arm, "Nothing is going to happen to me or anyone.. as soon as this - this - JD, is healed, he will be off on his way and we, on ours. Even these visions will stop.. " I said, checking my watch. It was 9:30 already._

_"And I know you are worried about me.. friends worry about each other.. " I added softly._

_He was still looking in the other direction, but a big frown had formed on his face as I had spoken the last sentence.. I prayed to God for another vision. Or flickering lights. Or high pitch sounds. Anything was better than turning someone down. I should have remained professional. WHY did I suggest friendship!_

_WAIT._

_I had suggested Friendship, HE was messing this up, he was going wayyyy too fast._

_I shifted a little away from him, pulling my drink towards me._

_"I am sorry, Jake.. but I don't date.." I said miserably. He just shook his head._

_He gathered himself up real fast after that though, and signaled the red head for the bill. We both finished our shakes, I kept looking at my watch._

_"Go." he said softly, I could hear an undercurrent of some emotions in his voice - anger being the foremost, "I'll pay and join you, its nearly my shift now.. "_

_Was he going to murder John in his sleep tonight? I had a different idea._

_"I am going call him Dean Winchester suddenly and see if he reacts in any way." I announced. Jake narrowed his eyes at me and listened with interest. "He talked a little with me today.. or tried to.. even his scars were gone by the time I had arrived, so I had ordered a check-up again. He started speaking after I finished examining his eyes.. at first, he was speaking some other language - the bone-vibrating language, and didn't realize it.. He had a big fit when he figured out it wasn't English. We had to tranquilize him. Later, in the evening, he typed out texts on my phone and told me his name was John Kirk, he was from Oklahoma and wanted to have a cheeseburger." I concluded._

_He just nodded._

_"So.. you want to be around when I do it?" I asked carefully._

_He frowned, "Do what?"_

_"Call him Dean?"_

_"No." he said firmly and started staring moodily at the lamp again._

_I grabbed my bag and jacket and got out of the booth, placing a few dollars on the table. He looked down at them, and then into my eyes.. his own eyes, burning with more anger than the situation demanded. I ignored it._

_"My treat!" I said and turned to leave, when he got up swiftly, caught my right arm and jerked me towards him. He was holding me tightly against his body before I could even blink an eye. His face was buried in the crook of my neck and his hands were resting just below my neck and around my waist, leaving no space for me to even squirm out. I stiffened up like a statue._

_WhatTheHELL._

_"Please.. please be careful, Erika.." he had murmured softly into my ear, as soon as he had pulled me into his arms._

_Oh yes I will be. Around you? DEFINITELY._

_I tried pushing him away._

_"Okay. But I don't think this is appropriate at all, Jake.." I said, my voice muffled against his neck. He had been lightening fast to hug me, but was not showing any signs of letting go. My body was squashed hard up against him, I shoved at his sides again, trying to break his hold._

_"I think its very appropriate.." he whispered as he ran his nose down my neck and tightened his arms further, but let me go immediately, just in time to see a blush creep down my cheeks._

_He smiled mischievously, the twinkle returning to his eyes._

_So.. he was not going to back off. I wasn't used to this. When I said no, no one approached twice._

_I wanted to slap him. Hard. I hated myself for blushing. I felt naive and young, i.e., foolish in short. But I had heard genuine concern in his voice when he had asked me to be careful, so I just threatened him before I left._

_"Don't try that again with me, you will be pushing your luck very far!" I said loudly enough for him to feel threatened, but softly enough for no one else to hear._

_He just smiled. Sweetly. With an amused glint in his eyes. What a psycho._

_I rolled my eyes and walked out, receiving a wink and smile from the red head. It was exactly 10 pm._

_I ground my teeth as I walked towards John's room._

_The blasted thing had the audacity to be amused. And to smile. What-A-Psychopath , I thought again._

_I was just going to walk into the room, and fume some more, when I saw Wendy through the glass in the door, inches away from placing her palm on the burn. I gasped out aloud. I was torn between stopping her and letting her continue, to see if she was affected too._

_But she had already placed her palm, first this way, then that way, then removed it and placed it back again, then she adjusted his covers and sat on the chair beside his bed. I sighed in relief and entered. Nothing had happened. At least externally. I wondered how to ask her if something had happened in her head, without sounding crazy._

_Wendy started talking as soon as she saw me enter and told me that he had eaten and fallen asleep by eight. I studied her. She din't seem horrified or flustered in anyway. I thanked and dismissed her._

_All my things were packed anyway, I sat on the couch and waited for Jake to show up._

_I looked at John sleeping peacefully. There were no new reports, except X-rays, the other labs were late today, and there hadn't been any sign of Dr. Greene either. John's arm and ankle still remained broken._

_A mixture of outrage and embarrassment filled me soon. I sucked at physicality. I hadn't received a hug in years and never so.. thoroughly anyway.._

_with my ex-s, it used to be extremely awkward and over in less than a second.. and not to mention - extremely unsatisfying. It used to be more like a bump than a hug.. I giggled a little at the memories. I was such an immature git back then, thinking I was so much in love. Now I knew better - love was just excess oxytocin in your blood._

_But Jake.. was so.. warm..? And I felt so.. um.. I had felt like I needed to melt asap. Right into him. WhatTheF._

_I didn't believe that I was admitting that I had nearly liked it..!_

_No. There was nothing to like._

_A part of me was really angry because it knew the hug was completely uncalled for. The kinder part of me argued that maybe he really cared about me and wanted to show it.. But this was not the way to show it, another spat back. Maybe not for you, but he is not as socially retarded as you are.._

_I had nothing to do, except stare at the wall clock, as parts of my brain fought each other._

_The door opened and Jake walked in. He thanked me for waiting and went over to sit behind the desk. He was behaving indifferently. I mentally sighed in relief. He looked over by the bed fearfully once, then started scribbling something thoughtfully._

_He was afraid that he might experience something abnormal again. I was guessing that he must have really freaked out and bolted in the morning without any thoughts, except to get away from John. _

_I reached home, showered and fell asleep like a log, waking up just once or twice because of blinding lights.. it had been a very long day._

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Wow! Every time I post a new chapter, I become a nervous wreck! Do tell me if it was okay? :O

Promise there will be more Dean from the next chapter, this one was needed for the plot.. :)

And. I have no clue how to reply to reviews. Do I PM or what? :(

Shall write it here. -_-

DarkBelowZ: teeheehee.. I am writing as fast as I can.. :) I am glad that you liked it.. :)

peasantsofthenorth: Wow! Thank you so much! Happy to make you laugh! :D

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Next Chapter on 15th: Dean behaves like Dean!

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Just an image I (tried to) design for the story.. :O Just remove the hashes (#) if you wanna see.. :)

h#t#t#p#:#/#/#fc07.#deviantart#.#n#e#t#/#fs70/#f/#2012/#344/#4/#c/#whatever_comes_this_way_by_emeraldstardust-d5nl8ux.#jpg


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